Birds are heavenly creatures that fascinate with their diligence and ability to work. After building their own house without the help of hands, they deserve admiration. The technology for making nests is also of interest, since each bird builds its nest differently.
Birds and their nest-making technologies
After the bird finds its soul mate, the male and female begin to create their own cozy corner. Each bird does this in its own way, so by the nest you can easily determine which bird lives in it. For example, rooks like to build nests near their relatives. On the same tree, you can see many nests that are very close to each other. This distance is so small that rooks can reach with their beak to a neighboring nest.
Rooks choose the building material in the form of twigs, and from the inside they cover the nest with dry grass. Unlike many other birds, rooks make their nests for more than one year, and also constantly repair them.
The tree with 1-2 nests belongs mainly to magpies. Their nests look like a huge ball with gaps. Magpies use the land as the basis for their home. Having made a solid bowl, they begin to create a depression, which poultry farmers call a tray. The magpie's tray is covered with rags. I start the "big construction" magpie in the spring. Their nests are famous for their durability and endure not only rains and snowfalls, but also strong winds.
Most songbirds prefer open bowl-shaped nests. However, each type of songbird builds a nest in its own way. For example, a wagtail takes moss, roots, leaves and stems as a basis, and lays the tray with hair and fluff inside. Overall, her nest looks like a disheveled pile of leaves.
Many birds make nests in hollows. These include woodpeckers, tits, nuthatches, and starlings.
The nests of finches, in contrast to the dwelling of the wagtail, have a more neat appearance. The chaffinch tightly weaves its deep bowl from the stems of lichen moss and grass, and covers the tray with down, hairs and feathers. Outside, this bird covers the nest with bark and lichen. The wren makes a nest in the shape of a ball, closing it on top. This type of bird uses leaves, straw and moss for construction, and it makes the entrance to the nest from the side.
As for the swallows, they mold their nests out of clay and mud, gluing them together with saliva. The nests are hemispheric in shape and are often located under roofs or on the walls of houses. When building houses, Swifts use the secretions of their sublingual salivary glands. An exotic and very expensive soup is made from these nests in Indonesia and China.
Why do birds need nests
The reason birds create nests is quite simple - they are descendants. By building strong nests, birds make sure that their eggs are completely safe. The nest not only serves as a secluded spot, but also protects the eggs from hypothermia.
This is why most birds insulate the bottom of their nests with moss, wool, grass, down, hay and feathers. Eiders pluck out their down on purpose and completely wrap their eggs with it. And after the chicks grow up, people collect this fluff and use it as a filler in down jackets.
Birds are amazing creatures, and people have a lot to learn from them!
